Lessons Learned from Building OctoberCMS Plugins

Over the past several years, I've built and maintained multiple OctoberCMS plugins that have been used by thousands of developers worldwide. My WYSIWYG Editors plugin alone has garnered 27+ stars on GitHub, and the SEO Extension has become a go-to solution for many OctoberCMS developers.

Start with a Real Problem

The best plugins come from solving real problems. My WYSIWYG Editors plugin was born from the frustration of not having good rich text editing options in OctoberCMS. Instead of settling for the default editor, I built integrations for multiple popular editors.

Documentation Matters

One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that documentation can make or break a plugin. Users don't want to read source code to figure out how to use your plugin. Clear, concise documentation with examples is essential.

Keep It Simple

It's tempting to add every feature under the sun, but the best plugins do one thing well. My SEO Extension focuses on making SEO management easy and straightforward. It doesn't try to be an analytics tool or a marketing platform.

Community Feedback

Some of the best improvements to my plugins have come from community feedback and pull requests. Being open to suggestions and responsive to issues builds trust and makes your plugins better.

Looking Ahead

While I continue to maintain my OctoberCMS plugins, I'm also exploring new platforms like Statamic for my future projects. The principles of good plugin development remain the same regardless of the platform.